maximum suck alert

I was shocked by a meal a couple of days ago at Diwan Curry House, the hapless offshoot of the now fallen Jackson Diner. The food was absolutely horrible in nearly every aspect. The dishes were swerved from their Indian counterparts, maybe to try to attract Upper West Siders, with most things merely salty, dull tasting, and unappealing. The "crab chili fry" was totally smelly and old despite its interesting description, the chicken tikka coated with some kind of weird salt crust, the lamb kurma flavorlessly salty and creamy, and worst of all was a chicken vindaloo that tasted like bad Italian cooking.

I walk by there at least once a week and it is always empty, when I do. Bored waiters often congregate near the front, always a bad sign. That space has been a bad luck charm ever since the uptown branch of Jerry's gave way.

Based on Eric Asimov's NY Times Under $25 review a few weeks, my friends and I decided to try this "new" neighbhorhood Indian restaurant. What a mistake! The Tandoori shrimp was so spicy we could barely eat it! The garlic shrimp appetizer tasted like shrimp in movie buttered popcorn sauce. Unfortunately for us, there may have been something wrong with the shrimp, we were all sick the next day. The restaurant was empty on that Thursday night from 8-9:30, not a good sign. Hopefully Diwan's will be gone soon. We won't be returning.